Those reading from the USA might be more familiar with the Sqairz brand than those of us here in the UK. Sir Nick Faldo’s close association with the brand and the regular commercial slots Sqairz fills on the Golf Channel leave the brand with a much bigger footprint in the States than on this side of the Atlantic.
The unique part of Sqairz golf shoes is undoubtedly the square toe box. This deliberate design choice has been made to open up the toe box and allow the toes to spread more naturally, creating a better balance and more ground connection. I was fascinated to give this a go and see how close such a unique design could get to the best golf shoes on he market right now.
Sqairz make some very dramatic claims about the performance increases golfers can expect in these shoes, which piqued my interest. On its website, the brand claims these shoes will deliver an average increase of 12 yards in distance, a 3.9mph swing speed boost and 30% dispersion tightening. These are very bold claims, ones that are backed by two studies, one out of Utah Valley University and the other focusing primarily on the brand’s baseball shoes. Both of these studies, however, have limited independence verification and are both promoted heavily on the Sqairz website (I can’t find the studies published elsewhere). All of this means we have to take it with at least a little pinch of salt.
From the player’s view, the square toe is a noticeable visual difference
(Image credit: Future)
I haven’t got the resources to conduct a fair, independent study to back these claims or compare them to the studies Sqairz have conducted. I’d likely want a few days, and at least a dozen different participants to get anywhere near a proper test, so I’ll leave these tests linked here for you to read to ponder over and decide for yourself whether a golf shoe can offer 12 yards more distance with no swing changes. I’ll touch on my anecdotal evidence later in the review.
Taking the performance claims away, I’ll spend some time doing what I always do with shoe reviews, and talking about the comfort, grip and support on offer to let you get a better understanding of whether this is the right golf shoe for you. Alongside the square toe box, this shoe really is packed with impressive features.
The square toe box was fascinating to test. Firstly, it visually offers something completely different when you address that ball in these shoes….
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